City making progress on railroad tracks deal for V&M Star

YOUNGSTOWN — The city has an “agreement in principle” to purchase railroad property that is key to a potential major project being considered by V&M Star Steel.

City Finance Director David Bozanich said today that a deal for Youngstown to take ownership of the Norfolk Southern railroad property should be finalized shortly, probably by the end of the month.

“It’s a big step in the right direction,” he said.

The state announced in April that it would provide $20 million from the federal stimulus package to the city to buy the railroad property and relocate the rail line to help V&M’s potential $970 million expansion project near its Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard facility.

V&M would lease the railroad land and three other properties that border its location along the Youngstown-Girard border if it moves ahead with the expansion.

For the complete story, read Saturday’s Vindicator or Vindy.com